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Image / Editorial

Off The Eaten Track: The Extraordinary Restaurants That You Should Visit


By Niamh ODonoghue
04th Jan 2017
Off The Eaten Track: The Extraordinary Restaurants That You Should Visit

Mad about food and looking for a truly unique dining experience? Maybe you’ve dreamed of eating in an underwater oasis, an ice cave, or even high in a tree top canopy? If so, you need to add these amazing locations to your foodie bucket list, pronto.

Yellow Treehouse Restaurant

Location: New Zealand

Cuisine: Traditional New Zealand

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The Yellow Treehouse Restaurant towers high above a mammoth’redwood forest in New Zealand’s?Northern tip near Auckland. The wooden structure is fitted ten meters high off the ground and guests can only access it by?an elevated treetop walkway (which makes it all the more magical). Appearing almost like a giant cocoon in the forest, the pod seats 30 people and uses natural lighting by day and at night soft lighting transforms the dark landscape with delicate white light. It looks blissfully enchanting. There’s one catch with this dining experience, though, as guests are required to book out the entire canopy at a cost of around €1949. But this includes all food and drink for 30 people and could be a perfect location for an outdoor wedding.

Ithaa

Location: The Maldives

Cuisine: contemporary European with Asian influences

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You might want to hold your breath for this one: submerged 16ft under the tropical waters of the Maldives lies Ithaa; one of the world’s most exotic restaurants and the first underwater ?The tiny underwater oasis can only accommodate?14 guests, but the acrylic structure will give you unprecedented 270-degree panoramic view of the ocean around you while you eat. This fantasy underwater realm is part of the equally luxurious?Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa,?which occupies two private islands in the Maldives in case you get bored on one (as if). Dining underwater doesn’t come cheap, however, with dinner setting you back around €306, and lunch averaging around €186 per person.

SnowCastle of Kemi

Location: Finland

Cuisine: Traditional Finnish

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Yes, people; a castle, made of snow. Open from January through April, this snow mega-structure is essentially rebuilt each cold season and seats an impressive 200 people – making it the worlds largest snow restaurant made entirely from snow and sea water. If you’re planning a visit you’ll be in for a treat this year because Finland is celebrating 100 years of independency, with the opening ceremony taking place this coming January 21st. Around the grounds of the’snow restaurant, guests can also find a snow chapel and snow hotel. A three-course dinner surrounded by decadent ice and candle light will cost around €60 per person.

Villa Escudero waterfall restaurant

Location: Philippines

Cuisine: Traditional Filipino buffet lunch, kamayan style

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Perhaps not the most luxurious restaurant you’ll find, but it certainly comes out on top for unique dining experiences! Villa Escudero is a classic hacienda-style resort, but the real wow factor is the waterfall restaurant which’sits directly underneath a 30ft natural roaring waterfall. Guests sit in a not-so-dry dining area and can enjoy a dip while eating a buffet lunch. But you might want to check the weather before you head there as dining experiences are weather dependent and can be cancelled if it’s too dangerous. At peak season visiting the Villa Escudero waterfall restaurant will cost around €30.

The Broker?Restaurant

Location: Colorado

Cuisine: Steakhouse

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Fancy yourself as a bit of a jailbreak?expert? Then The Broker?Restaurant in Denver should be on your food bucket list. Built in a 100-year-old bank, this historic building is one of Denver’s finest steakhouses and includes a wine cellar located 35 feet below ground in the bank’s original cash vault. If you’re looking to really wow someone special, private dining experiences can also be catered for, just don’t bank on them paying the bill.. An evening meal here will cost around €120 for two.

Ali Barbour’s cave restaurant

Location: Kenya

Cuisine: fine, fresh Kenyan produce and seafood

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Over 30 years ago, restaurant patrons?George and Jackie Barbour decided to convert an old cave into a truly unique and mystical eating experience on the Kenyan coast. The result is an out-of-the-ordinary and elegant dining experience serving fine, local Kenyan produce and seafood. The cave is thought to be between 120,000 and 180,000 years old, is situated about 30km south of Mombasa, and?comprises a series of interlinking chambers at depths of up to 10m below ground level. Prices average around??31- €75 per dish per person.

Yes, these dining options are far off the beaten track and not exactly the perfect solutions if you’re planning to nip out for a quick bite?(unless you own a supersonic jet), but they are one-off experiences that will give you far more than just a full stomach and happy taste buds. Besides, it’s an excuse for a trip abroad – isn’t it? Prepare to have your senses enveloped.